As curtain rises on new era for Alley, incoming chief talks diversity and collaboration

Rob Melrose is the new Artistic Director of the Alley Theatre. Melrose is an award-winning director, writer, teacher and translator with nearly two decades of experience.

Photo: Marie D. De Jesús, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

The Alley Theatre’s incoming artistic director, Rob Melrose, recently sat down to speak with the Houston Chronicle about his vision for the company.

Melrose, announced Thursday to replace longtime director Gregory Boyd, addressed diversity, the Alley Theatre company, the Alley’s relationship with local actors and making theater in the age of #MeToo.

Q: What’s your platform?

A: It’s two things. It’s honoring the legacy of the theater so the people who love it now, love it a year later and two years from now. So we don’t lose anybody. But, on the other hand, opening the doors wider so more people of Houston feel like this is their theater. Diversifying the company, the kind of work we do, reflecting Houston — and your writings are great. Everyone says let’s diversify. Let’s just make sure we actually do it.

Q: There’s this question about the relationship between the Alley Theatre and the rest of the community. There was this perception of, “Gregory Boyd never went to any of my shows.” They call the Alley “The Castle on the Hill.”

A: It’s true! It’s true! Two minutes ago, I was that little theater who knew what it was like, both when the AD of the big theater came and also when an AD hadn’t set foot in my theater in 20 years. I’m aware of it. When they don’t come, I know how that feels.

As a counter-example, something great that happened when Joe Dowling took on the leadership of the Guthrie Theater (in Minneapolis), he had his associate, John Miller-Stephany, go see everything. And he was in charge of casting. Before Joe, the Guthrie had been a castle. Either you were in the company or you weren’t, and the only people they brought in were from New York. But because John went and saw all the shows, he had a sense of what the local talent was. I just directed “Frankenstein” at the Guthrie. I was told, you could have 3 people from out of town, but 3 have to be local.

Because actors know, in Minneapolis they’re being considered for the biggest theater, they’re willing to stay. And it just adds to the scene. Whereas, when actors feel like they can never be considered, there’s the joke in the Bay Area that in order to be seen by the big theaters you have to move to New York. That creates a talent drain.

I’m willing to see shows here. I’ve already been to Catastrophic; I saw “Curse of the Starving Class.” I’ve known Jason Nodler for many years. My theater in San Francisco and his theater here are kind of sister theaters. I think I can do a lot for building bridges and helping the theater scene as a whole rise.

Q: When I met Gregory Boyd, he was aware the company model was struggling against how quickly demographics change with the plays that are being done nowadays. How are you thinking about the company model? Earlier, the only person of color in the company was David Rainey.

A: And Shawn Hamilton now, who I’ve known a long time. He’s great. But yeah, that’s going to be a needle to thread. The Alley is deeply committed to having an acting company. How to do diverse work and honor the idea of the acting company? I think it’s sad this is one of the last remaining acting companies. Our answer to diversity will be different than from my good friend, Emily Mann, she took over (Princeton, N.J.’s) McCarter Theatre. She said, “Listen, I want to do an August Wilson play and a David Henry Hwang play, and I can’t do it with this company.” She dissolved the company. I love her and she’s amazing. I’m going to have to solve it a different way.

In the five-year plan, there’s room to add actors. I’m going to be wanting to diversify the company. … And as I think about the actors we bring in, I want to make sure they complement the company and make it more diverse. So when you look onstage, the show represents Houston.

Q: The Alley in the past year has had Hurricane Harvey and the Boyd scandal. Is that something you talked about during the interview process?

A: What everybody said everywhere I go is how amazingly the staff pulled together both through the hurricane and through Gregory. There’s a lot of really smart people who work hard and have had each other’s backs and have had a sense of camaraderie. My leadership style is extremely collaborative and transparent. It’s the only way I know how to work. … My leadership style is about making a space where people can do their best work, where they feel comfortable enough to take risks, bring ideas forward and go out on a limb.

Q: Have you seen the film “Whiplash”?

A: Yes, yes, yes.

Q: I grew up in the music world, and to me, this idea of the genius is romanticized. If someone’s really tough, great, you’re cutting your teeth. Even if someone said you’re worthless, it’s like, “Fine, I’ll do even better.” There’s this idea that the environment creates permission for powerful men.

A: The Alley has done a lot of work on this. They’ve gone through a number of processes to address the issues.

A: In my first interview, one of the board members said, “Listen, I just want to assure you that you have done a lot of work on this. We are not the same organization we were in January.” And then, they hired me, who has a completely different idea of what leadership is.

I have a good friend who was in the San Francisco ballet. She told me the ballet world was a lot like the “Whiplash” thing. That’s considered OK. People are waking up and realizing that’s not OK. But what interests me is, that’s not a good way to get work. For theater, I don’t think so. I’m not a dancer, maybe if you scream at someone they’ll jump higher. I don’t think so. Theater is best when the actor, designer open up and feel comfortable and feel willing to take risks. The only way they can do that is if they feel safe and you’ve got their back.

There’s a woman named Laura Fisher, part of this Chicago group called Not in Our House.

Q: I’ve interviewed them. I think some theaters in Houston have adopted the Chicago Standards.

A: And we will, too. Laura’s wonderful. Ever since I’ve heard her speak, I’ve had an intimacy choreographer on my shows. In theater, there are directors who say, “Why don’t you just start kissing and I’ll tell you what I like.” And that’s awkward. People say, “We’re corporatizing the rehearsal process, there should be blood and guts.” She says, actually, once you know someone’s there keeping you safe and you know exactly what you’re doing and you’re empowered, then you can commit fully to the movement, and the work can actually be more exciting, appearing more risky, because you know you’re not physically at risk. …My friend with the ballet, she quit. She said, it isn’t worth it. I don’t like how I’m feeling as a human being. I think that’s terrible.

Again, it’s this thing where you’re being better to your fellow being, and it makes the art better.

Wei-Huan Chen is theater critic and arts/culture writer for the Houston Chronicle. He splits his time between critiquing performing arts and reporting on the city's myriad cultures and phenomena. His subjects include theater, film, music and inclusion/representation in the arts.

Before arriving at the Chronicle in 2016, he worked for the Indianapolis Star, the Lafayette Journal & Courier, the Needham Times and the Boston Phoenix. Chen is a 2016 National Critics Institute Fellow at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. He has won many awards for his writing on the arts, including First Place from the Indiana Associated Press Media Editors for Feature Writing.

One of the few full-time Asian-American arts critics currently working at a large metro daily, Chen writes and speaks frequently about diversity and criticism. He has spoken on the topic at Chicago's Goodman Theatre, the Asian American Journalists Association National Convention, New York City's BroadwayCon and for American Theatre Magazine's podcast, "Offscript."

Chen once auditioned for "The Bachelorette" and wrote about it. He did not receive a callback.